18 months!!
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in and took time out of their busy lives for our Mood Board Monday linky party this week! I loved seeing what you did with all that beautiful etsy artwork. We even had some new faces, which is awesome! Hope you all can join us next time too. I'll try not to space them so far apart again! Anyone have any ideas for an inspiration category that you'd like to see?
On a more personal note, Maura turned 18 months this past weekend! Seems like such a huge milestone to me. A year and half?! How did it go by so fast? Yet at the same time, it seems like forever ago that she was just a teeny tiny thing unable to move or to speak. Crazy!!
Here are the past two months' bunny chair pics:
{showing off Tow Mater}
{making the monkey kiss the baby}
18 month check-up stats:
The largest change in the last couple of months is how much she's talking and how many words she says. Every day there's new ones (today we learned "stretchy" when she got a hold of a rubber band!) and she always tries to repeat what we say (and most of the time does a pretty good job of it). It's so cool to be able to communicate with her and to watch her growing and learning so quickly.
She can recognize and say six shapes (circle, square, triangle, star, heart and squiggle). And if her mood and the circumstances are right, she's been known to count to ten! We're working on colors, but she doesn't quite get it yet.
She's learning the meaning of opposites and knows pairs like "wet and dry", "clean and dirty", "up and down", "big and small" (we're trying to learn "medium" too!).
Maura finally figured out how to color and do stickers (before she always used to just try and eat the crayons), so we have a lot of fun with that. Especially Mama:)
{we never really put away her Christmas stuff after the holidays...she likes reading about Santa and playing with her Little People Nativity set too much!}
On the food front, we have taken a slight step backward. All of the sudden she has stopped liking a couple of the foods that she used to love:( And she still will not eat any real vegetables!!! She loves "scooping" with her spoon though, so eating yogurt on her own is one of her new favorite things. Can any of you moms with toddlers help me out with this? Have you noticed its harder finding things they like to eat? Are your little guys still in high chairs or are they in booster seats, etc.? (Not sure where she's supposed to be in terms of this.) Do you guys sit down with your toddler and eat dinner as a family? Does your toddler eat what you eat and if so, what if they don't like it? Do you give them a back up or "let them starve"? We feed Maura dinner earlier and then Paul and I eat later once she is in bed, its our only real chance to sit down together and relax. Not sure if this is hurting Maura's food chances or not. Any and all advice, comments, suggestions would be great!!
As of a few weeks ago, we are finally completely done with bottles! I had been putting off getting rid of her night time bottle because we had such a nice thing going...and I was worried that she wouldn't drink as much milk out of the sippy cup and therefore maybe wake up in the middle of the night hungry or something. It actually went much better than I expected! She does drink just as much milk, although it takes a bit longer. What is really different is just the feeling/experience of putting her down...she used to get that bottle and immediately her eyes would start to close and she would be calm and relaxed, now its sort of a struggle to get her diaper changed and she's chatty and squirmy, etc. She still falls asleep ok, so I guess I can't complain! Hopefully once she gets a little more used to the change she'll go back to her easy bed time self;)
She has been loving the book "Someday" (by Allison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds) and it has quickly become a new part of our nap and bed time routine.
Maura's favorite things right now are her matchbook characters from the movie Cars. They were hand-me downs from her friend Brady, who's six years old and not as much into them anymore! She takes them everywhere...into the tubbie, to the grocery store, and they end up all over the house in crazy spots...they are pretty much like her "lovies".
One of her favorite things to do with her cars (or really anything in general, including herself) is make them "tall". She loves to build towers out of blocks and balance the cars on top. She also loves to step on anything (it could be a book a quarter of an inch thick!) to make herself "tall".
We still go outside and play every day (no matter the temperature, unless its pouring). We go for walks:
push baby and/or Mickey in the stroller:
ride in our car (we got a really good parking spot here!):
play in the driveway (with sand, rocks, sticks, the soccer ball):
play in what little snow we've had:
{making a snowman with her uncle/godfather and Dada}
{Maura and Cameron}
On a more personal note, Maura turned 18 months this past weekend! Seems like such a huge milestone to me. A year and half?! How did it go by so fast? Yet at the same time, it seems like forever ago that she was just a teeny tiny thing unable to move or to speak. Crazy!!
Here are the past two months' bunny chair pics:
{showing off Tow Mater}{making the monkey kiss the baby}18 month check-up stats:
- Weight: 24 lbs. 11 oz.
- Height: 34 inches (97th percentile for height!)
The largest change in the last couple of months is how much she's talking and how many words she says. Every day there's new ones (today we learned "stretchy" when she got a hold of a rubber band!) and she always tries to repeat what we say (and most of the time does a pretty good job of it). It's so cool to be able to communicate with her and to watch her growing and learning so quickly.
She can recognize and say six shapes (circle, square, triangle, star, heart and squiggle). And if her mood and the circumstances are right, she's been known to count to ten! We're working on colors, but she doesn't quite get it yet.
She's learning the meaning of opposites and knows pairs like "wet and dry", "clean and dirty", "up and down", "big and small" (we're trying to learn "medium" too!).
Maura finally figured out how to color and do stickers (before she always used to just try and eat the crayons), so we have a lot of fun with that. Especially Mama:)
{we never really put away her Christmas stuff after the holidays...she likes reading about Santa and playing with her Little People Nativity set too much!}On the food front, we have taken a slight step backward. All of the sudden she has stopped liking a couple of the foods that she used to love:( And she still will not eat any real vegetables!!! She loves "scooping" with her spoon though, so eating yogurt on her own is one of her new favorite things. Can any of you moms with toddlers help me out with this? Have you noticed its harder finding things they like to eat? Are your little guys still in high chairs or are they in booster seats, etc.? (Not sure where she's supposed to be in terms of this.) Do you guys sit down with your toddler and eat dinner as a family? Does your toddler eat what you eat and if so, what if they don't like it? Do you give them a back up or "let them starve"? We feed Maura dinner earlier and then Paul and I eat later once she is in bed, its our only real chance to sit down together and relax. Not sure if this is hurting Maura's food chances or not. Any and all advice, comments, suggestions would be great!!
As of a few weeks ago, we are finally completely done with bottles! I had been putting off getting rid of her night time bottle because we had such a nice thing going...and I was worried that she wouldn't drink as much milk out of the sippy cup and therefore maybe wake up in the middle of the night hungry or something. It actually went much better than I expected! She does drink just as much milk, although it takes a bit longer. What is really different is just the feeling/experience of putting her down...she used to get that bottle and immediately her eyes would start to close and she would be calm and relaxed, now its sort of a struggle to get her diaper changed and she's chatty and squirmy, etc. She still falls asleep ok, so I guess I can't complain! Hopefully once she gets a little more used to the change she'll go back to her easy bed time self;)
She has been loving the book "Someday" (by Allison McGhee and Peter H. Reynolds) and it has quickly become a new part of our nap and bed time routine.
Maura's favorite things right now are her matchbook characters from the movie Cars. They were hand-me downs from her friend Brady, who's six years old and not as much into them anymore! She takes them everywhere...into the tubbie, to the grocery store, and they end up all over the house in crazy spots...they are pretty much like her "lovies".
One of her favorite things to do with her cars (or really anything in general, including herself) is make them "tall". She loves to build towers out of blocks and balance the cars on top. She also loves to step on anything (it could be a book a quarter of an inch thick!) to make herself "tall".
We still go outside and play every day (no matter the temperature, unless its pouring). We go for walks:
push baby and/or Mickey in the stroller:
ride in our car (we got a really good parking spot here!):
play in the driveway (with sand, rocks, sticks, the soccer ball):
play in what little snow we've had:
{making a snowman with her uncle/godfather and Dada}play on our swing set:
{Maura and Cameron}and just do general nature loving stuff! (Maura is a legitimate "tree hugger". She literally gives the trees in our yard hugs. Here she is saying hi to a tall, skinny tree that struck her fancy while we were hiking in the woods. I love this pic!)
Every day gets better and better with this girl!! Mama and Dada love you and are so proud of you, Lovie!!!
I loved this post, Sarah! Maura is so adorable and clearly the love of your life! I remember my kids being that age like it was yesterday, yet somehow it's flown way too fast. They are now almost 6 and almost 4.
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping me remember this age so fondly.
To give some feedback with some of your questions, I really remember going through the food issues beginning around this age. Both my kids were super eaters until they hit this mark! I think around this age they become so busy and curious that sitting for a meal is less appealing. I'm sure their tastebuds develop more too and their tolerance for certain textures/flavors changes as well.
Depending on what I was making for the grown ups, I would offer them a little bit of what we were having, but usually have something I knew they would eat with it (applesauce, etc.) It can be trying though. My son who is my second, went through a spell of eating little other than Ritz crackers and yogurt. From an early age, kids know that food is one thing they can control a bit (unless you shove food down their throat, you can't make 'em eat, which can be so frustrating!)A lot of it is trial and error and you sound like you're doing great. My friend's grandmother always reminds us that "When he's 47, he'll eat his vegetables. Don't worry." It always gives me perspective.
At some point (my son has become a terrible eater these days)after trying to set goals (this many bites, no dessert if you don't eat some more dinner, etc.)dinner is just over, because otherwise it becomes a battle of the wills. But he's almost four, so hopefully you don't encounter that yet!
Good luck! Looking forward to more updates of your little sweetie.
All the best,
Erin
Maura just gets cuter and cuter and I love hearing what she is up to! I am too far removed to be of much help on the eating front, tho I think it is all about choices, so if the options are healthy then you should be good to go! Choices are important for kids of every age and in many situations. Continue to enjoy every minute with your sweet girl!
ReplyDeleteSo so sweet! E is generally a good eater, but it does ebb and flow. From everyone I've talked to, it seems that toddlers' eating habits change constantly and that's normal. In theory, we all eat together, but many days she's ready to eat before I've finished dinner so she usually starts earlier with whatever I have ready or some fruit or snacky thing. I do try to give her what we eat unless it's too hard for her to eat or spicy. Last night we had chicken burritos but I made her a quesadilla. She's still in her high chair (though she is only 14 months) and I'm skeptical of how a booster seat will work because we have white slipcovered chairs! Ha.
ReplyDeleteLove the update! Right now, Kylie (14 mo) eats anything and everything- veggies, meats, fruits, dirt, legos... :) I am so worried that one of these days she's going to quit eating so well.
ReplyDeleteCameron from what I remember ate pretty good. There would be times where he would refuse a lot of what I gave him, only to start eating it in the weeks to come (like a certain veggie). I think the trick there is to always offer them a good assortment of foods and don't automatically write peas off if she turns her nose up at them. It's easy to get stuck in a rut too- say she likes carrots and only carrots- you should probably keep a good rotation of other veggies coming to her so she doesn't burn out.
When Cam was little (like under 12 months) we would feed him earlier than us so that we could have some quiet time too. I loved that. Plus he was always in bed by 6:30, so it really worked well. We started bringing him to the table as he ate more and more what we we're eating. He sat in a booster seat with a tray that strapped to our seats, mainly because we didn't have a lot of extra room at the time for a hefty high chair. I'd start bringing her to the table, so that as she gets older she knows she is expected to try and eat what you have made for for the family (or whatever rules you'll have). I never have made or offered anything different- but I do try to offer an incentive for eating all his food (like a walk around the neighborhood, a little ice cream treat, play a game after dinner, etc) and that works really well.
Anyway, as I finish my novel (ha!) I'd try not to worry much about her nutrition- it seems like most toddlers go through a period of food aversion, but they usually grow out of it. Case in point: Cameron, who eats broccoli by the handfuls and spinach straight from the bag like he's snacking on chips. Crazy kid.
Sarah, Maura has changed so much since your last update. As soon as I saw her I thought she looked like she got a lot taller! She's so sweet and looks like such a big girl! Oh man, I had a little weepy moment tonight. Sheila likes to play with all of the CDs that we have in her room and the one that was in was one we used to play a lot when she was an infant - whew, this Momma got a little weepy :) But it's all good, and you're right EVERY day gets better and better :) and challenges in a different way. Sheila is a lot quicker with her meals, that's for sure. Sometimes she's just not interested at all and we just go with it. Like last night we were at a party and she was so interested in playing and wanting to explore that she really didn't have much interest in eating. I just think they go through the lack of interest with food sometimes at this age. I enjoy your updates on Maura :)
ReplyDeleteHey
ReplyDelete18 months!!
Many Thanks, I'm very glad to peer your post
An interesting dialogue is worth comment
Thank you!